Background

"Save the bees" is a campaign that has gained popularity in recent years, and typically the honey bee is front and center. However, Apis mellifera (the western honey bee raised by most US beekeepers) is naturalized to the US, but it's not native. Honey bees are amazing creatures but so are 3,600 species of bees that are native to the US. Pollination isn't limited to bees. Bats, butterflies, moths, and birds also help with pollination. Pollinators are necessary for pollination of over 85% of flowering plants and 67% of agricultural crops.

How to help

Many of the same acts that help honey bees help ALL pollinators. Here is a list of some things you can do right away:

• Reduce or eliminate lawn chemicals (pesticides, herbicides, and certain fertilizers)

• Check with your local extension office for pollinator friends plants that are native to your area and plant them in abundance

• Buy native plants from local nurseries that use sustainable integrated pest management practices

• Select nectar-rich plants that bloom at different periods of the year

• Make peace with early spring "weeds" like dandelions, they are an early source of food for pollinators

• Support beekeepers who practice sustainable apiculture

• Educate the children and adults around you about pollinators and their importance in nearly every ecosystem on earth

Montgomery County Beekeepers Assoc Plants for Bees

https://montgomerycountybeekeepers.com/plants-for-bees/

University of Maryland Extension Pollinator Garden Guide

https://extension.umd.edu/resource/pollinator-gardens

USDA Pollinator-Friendly Plants for the Northeast United States

https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_PLANTMATERIALS/publications/nypmctn11164.pdf

Maryland Native Plant Society

https://mdflora.org/